Short Interest in SpartanNash (NASDAQ:SPTN) Decreases By 20.9%

SpartanNash (NASDAQ:SPTN) saw a large decrease in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 692,900 shares, a decrease of 20.9% from the October 31st total of 876,100 shares. Currently, 2.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 244,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of SpartanNash from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th.

SpartanNash Price Performance

NASDAQ:SPTN opened at $18.91 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.32. SpartanNash has a 52 week low of $17.74 and a 52 week high of $24.51. The stock has a market cap of $638.40 million, a PE ratio of 14.22 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

SpartanNash (NASDAQ:SPTN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. SpartanNash had a return on equity of 8.57% and a net margin of 0.48%. The firm’s revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that SpartanNash will post 1.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SpartanNash Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.2175 per share. This represents a $0.87 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. SpartanNash’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.41%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SpartanNash

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in SpartanNash during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in SpartanNash in the second quarter worth $34,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in SpartanNash by 5,317.6% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,842 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 1,808 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of SpartanNash by 64.9% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,801 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 709 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of SpartanNash by 114.4% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,380 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 1,270 shares in the last quarter. 84.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

SpartanNash Company Profile

SpartanNash Company distributes and retails grocery products in the United States of America. It operates through Wholesale and Retail segments. The Wholesale segment offers grocery products and perishable food products, including dry groceries, produce, dairy products, meat, delicatessen items, bakery goods, frozen food, seafood, floral products, general merchandise, beverages, tobacco products, health and beauty care, and pharmaceutical products to independent retailers, national accounts, food service distributors, e-commerce providers, and corporate owned retail stores.